Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

4 reviews

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

One hand I do think Garcia is a talented writer but the novel despite having perspectives for two Salvadorans a girl and a woman multiple times, the Salvadoran characters, the non white Latinos feel like props to the white Cuban women, including the black Cubans who exist largely for the white grandmother and cousin to accuse of theft or be surprised the other has a name. And while it is good to talk about the diversity of Cuba and the racism within it again the black Cuban characters seem to exist only for props or for reader presumed to not be black or non white Cubans. Thus the book feels like a book a white Cuban American or white cuban woman might get something out of but not meant for black cuban diaspora or not but instead for white gringos moreso. Similarly the Salvadoran characters don’t feel like they equally share the story even how prominent their povs are and the author even described in of their brown skins as “burnt” as if that’s not incredibly racist just because it’s burnt sugar. Which makes it unsurprising that that character Gloria perspective unfortunately comes of as patronizing and like the author isn’t aware how smart she is or Gloria doesn’t exist to be Gloria but for the author to share facts about US immigration that read clunky and almost copy and pasted from a nonfiction piece while the cuban family feels much more dynamic and lived in. Like Gloria live is one lived by many people but instead she feels like she exists for white peoples to read and feel bad about maybe even white and/or rich Mexicans but not for Salvadorans and Central Americans to read. This is always why I am unsurprised the blurbs for the book are almost entirely about the white Cuban characters. 

I do really like the topics Garcia wanted to tackle, the relationships between women and cycles of abuse and I completely agree with the author that there is no “one” immigrant story in her short interview with Roxane Gay but I think she really needs to re-examine how she writes non white characters and characters her Mexican and Cuban family don’t fit into since those characters suffered the most. I do really like that she wrote about racism and classism in Mexico and the resentments between different Latino groups even if again that sometimes felt clunky. I especially loved the Cuban families divided less by borders and more by interpersonal issues and with very different and strong political opinions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, Violence, War, Chronic illness, Grief, Death, Deportation, Self harm, Child abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Cancer, Misogyny, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Chronic illness, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was actually really good.
The complexity of the characters was intense, each had a quite realistic side of themselves that they weren’t sharing with the others but not in a frustrating way.
The writing was poetic but not unclear.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and War

caughtinmyvines's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

To me, this book felt like a collection of deep, descriptive, beautiful short stories. There was a large cast of characters tied together through familial connections, though those connections became taut and stressed as they crossed continents and generations. Each chapter tended to focus on a different character and explored their perspective. There were some stunning lines in this book, immensely creative and satisfying scenes. There was a deep darkness to it as well; it does not resolve your conflicts or aim to make you comfortable. It won't coddle you.

There is a lot to appreciate in this book. The depictions of women are diverse, each character with their distinct personality and troubles, all of them portrayed with depth and care. 

This book did not hit five stars for me because the plot was sprawling. If you asked me to outline the events, I could only name two that actually bring cohesion to the book, and the last one is in the final chapter. The ending felt slightly rushed or forced. I was often fighting confusion as I read through this, despite the clear artistry in the writing. Sometimes a little structure is needed to help bring that artistry to its full potential. 

If I had read almost any of these chapters as stand alone stories, they likely would've earned five stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Racism